The demand for aromatics, for example, benzene/toluene/xylene, is increasing at a yearly average of 4˜6% all over the world, which is a drastic increasing trend that is two times the GDP and three times the demand for general petroleum products. Such an increase is based on the dramatically increasing demand for aromatics in China.
Conventional aromatics (benzene/toluene/xylene) have been produced from pyrolysis gasoline obtained together with fundamental oil products including ethylene, propylene, etc., in naphtha pyrolysis plants using a naphtha feed, or from reformate in catalytic naphtha reformer.
However, because of the drastic increase in the demand for aromatics as noted above, Shortage of naphtha supply are intensifying in the worldwide market including China since 2007, conventional techniques using naphtha cannot meet the increasing aromatic demand because naphtha can be obtained by atmospheric distillation of crude oil only. Hence, there is a need for alternative feed for aromatics, which is usable as a replacement for naphtha, and furthermore, a need to increase the yield of aromatics and light paraffins is receiving attention.